London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Hampstead 1920
Report for the year 1920 of the Medical Officer of Health
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51
It is my invariable practice upon receiving information of the
death of a non-notified tuberculosis case to write to the certifying
medical practitioner calling his attention to the oversight, and urging
the importance of prompt notification of tuberculosis immediately upon
diagnosis.
I desire to bring home to the medical practitioners the fact that the
failure to notify promptly so large a percentage of cases is a distinct
drawback in our efforts to combat the disease, and I would urge upon
all medical practitioners the importance of notifying their tuberculosis
cases as promptly as they would notify any other notifiable disease.
Of the cases newly notified during 1920, 8 were of persons
already dead or dying, and in 8 other cases the patients did not
survive the year under review. Of the total new cases in 1920 the
number who have attended the Municipal Tuberculosis Dispensary
is 107.
The number of cases notified in 1920 and previous years are as follows:—
| Year. | Persons n wly notified. | Total. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pulmonary Tuberculosis Voluntarily notifiable 1902; Compulsorily notfiable 1912. | Non-Pulmonary Tuberculosis (Notifiable from 1st Feb-ruary, 1913). | ||
| 1902 | 51 | 51 | |
| 1903 | 34 | _ | 34 |
| 1904 | 39 | _ | 39 |
| 1905 | 27 | _ | 27 |
| 1906 | 35 | _ | 35 |
| 1907 | 55 | _ | 55 |
| 1908 | 30 | _ | 30 |
| 1909 | 67 | _ | 67 |
| 1910 | 77 | _ | 77 |
| 1911 | 113 | _ | 113 |
| 1912 | 183 | — | 183 |
| 1913 | 244 | 56 | 300 |
| 1914 | 142 | 30 | 172 |
| 1915 | 172 | 48 | 220 |
| 1916 | 193 | 51 | 244 |
| 1917 | 256 | 52 | 308 |
| 1918 | 291 | 70 | 361 |
| 1919 | 165 | 48 | 213 |
| 1920 | 118 | 53 | 171 |